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The Pinkie Problem
So, I've been saying that Season 4 has had one consistant problem, and that problem has been Pinkie's characterization. A lot of people seem to believe that Pinkie has been fine, the same as she's always been, or harmless. That's a perfectly valid opinion (that I don't share) and there is a way of looking at things where you take every character's perfomance as "in character:" Spike from Spike at Your Service; Twilight in Feeling Pinkie Keen; Rainbow Dash in May the Best Pet Win!, everything. I could do that—actually no I couldn't, since I'm a critic, but hypothetically if I could, I would have to assume that Pinkie lacks any sense of empathy (The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000; Filli Vanilli); is a complete idiot (Over a Barrel); and has the mind of a child (most of her season four appearances). Regardless of whether or not that's a valid viewpoint, that's not a good character. I define a good character as someone you can relate to, someone you can look up to, or someone you want to be. And, Pinkie does (or should) fit into all three of those categories at her best. At her worst, well... maybe her latest appearance wasn't a Stuck in the Wringer, but she's well on her way and it's not out of the realm of plausibility (we're kinda, we're kinda in Toy Store of Doom ''territory). Like I said, all it takes is that unapologetic wreckless abandon to cause a problem instead of just make it worse. So we're going to try to figure out what makes Pinkie tick. Doing so may prove futile, but not doing so may prove dangerous. Now I'm not saying that Pinkie isn't allowed to have flaws. That would be absolutely ridiculous. She's always had flaws. Those flaws are actually a lack of empathy, a ditzy demeanor, and childish tendencies. It seems pretty similar to what I stated just a paragraph ago, but those are her chief flaws. Her bad appearances are just those exaggerated to where it's painful to watch. A lack of empathy doesn't mean that she doesn't know what emotions are—it means that she has difficulty seeing what other ponies are feeling, which mostly manifests itself in not realizing that she's annoying others. This aspect of hers has been used in ''A Friend in Deed and abused in Luna Eclipsed, Filli Vanilli, ''and ''The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. Do you know what saves her characterization in that episode (for me at least)? She's clearly regretful for causing someone else misery. She just doesn't know exactly how to go about fixing the problem. In her other appearances, this lack of empathy almost seems malicious. Even if Pinkie's not "out of character" these appearances get way too mean-spirited. Now what's the difference between a ditzy demeanor and a complete idiot? Someone who is simply a ditz would be able to (relatively) function in society. A non-flanderized Pinkie wouldn't do something that could not concievably have a positive outcome, like say cause the buffalo to stampede through shear annoyance. She's also been shown to have a very good memory (A Friend in Deed). The final flaw is childish tendancies—not exactly doing what a child would, but being more fun seeking than perhaps what's healthy. Maybe she does color in coloring books, but she does know that she wouldn't learn about killer plants inside of one (Princess Twilight Sparkle). What's most important to Pinkie? Her friends. Making them smile. Going off the handle about Fluttershy's worst fears to the point where she's crying spits in the face of that and what she really cares about. I'm not just saying this because this is how I think Pinkie should be written. We've had plenty of evidence about this. Remember what happened when Gilda made Fluttershy cry in Griffon the Brush-Off, and how far out of her way she went to fix it. Pinkie's lack of empathy is not bad enough to not know what tears or a smile signify. Do you know what really annoys me about Filli Vanilli? It's the fact that Amy Keating Rogers practically wrote the instruction book to writing Pinkie and placed it in her episodes (the lyrics of the songs are written by the writers by the way) * "For all my life, all I've wanted to do/was make my friends want to smile true" * "There's gotta be more to me than planning a party or two" * "I made them laugh, had such a blast/A smile that's all their own" * "They loved seeing me, the real Pinkie/Show them the time of their life like they've never known" * "It doesn't matter now/If you are sad or blue/Cause cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here to do" * "The corners of your mouth turned up is always Pinkie's dream" * "I give a smile I get a smile/And that's so special to me" Yeah, that's pretty much the... um Seven Commandments of Writing Pinkie Pie, in Pinkie's own words. She may not succeed in this, but these should almost always be her intention. And that brings us to our final point of the day: "explaining" vs "excusing." I get this a lot in my reviews, people saying "x did this because blah blah blah" I almost always know WHY they did what they did. Fluttershy berated her friends because Iron Will fucked her up in the head. That "explains" what Fluttershy did, but it does not "excuse" it. Fluttershy suffering some kind of consequence for that action would "excuse" it (depending on the consequences). According to Amy Keating Rogers, Pinkie speaking without thinking "explains" throwing Fluttershy into fear (you know, if we ignore all of that other stuff I spent an hour writing), but it does not "excuse" it, like some sort of regret on Pinkie's part. (By the way, when I say "excuse" I don't mean that I condone these behaviors, it's purely a story writing term in this case). And that is the fatal flaw here. You know, Pinkie crushed Rainbow under a pinata in Pinkie Pride. Pinkie getting jealous "explains" it, but Pinkie willing to literally move out of town "excuses" that behavior. This "Excuse" vs. "Explaining" is how I've been judging every characterization so far by the way, like Babs Seed from One Bad Apple; ''Rainbow Dash in ''May the Best Pet Win!, Twilight in Owl's Well That Ends Well. Yes, all of their actions have been "Explained," but the episodes did not "excuse" them well enough for me. Um... I think I've lost track of what I was trying to say. Oh yeah Pinkie has the potential to be a great character, even a role model as long as you keep a leash on her flaws. Know them inside and out and do not try to top previous moments of ditz, and you'll be fine. Oh, and Amy Keating Rogers, work on "excusing" Pinkie's behavior in the episode, and not "explaining" it on twitter. Category:Miscellaneous